Improvement in pneumatic station-indicators



24Sheets--Sheet1.

RIGNEY.

J. Pneumatic Station-Indicators.

P. KEALY & l.

Patented Nov. 25,1873.

Inventor: f s er nnrneys.

Witnesses:

' annunciator.

UNITED STATES i PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES P. IKEALY AND JOSEPH RIGNEY, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN PNEUMATIC STATION-INDICATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 144,909, dated November25, 1873; application filed August 9, 1873.

of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and ImprovedPneumatic Station-Annunciator, of which the following is a specificationThe invention will first be fully described, and then pointed out in theclaims.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of our improved Fig. 2 is a sectionalelevation taken on the line a: w of Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and at representdifferent forms of cam-plates and spring-holders that may be employed tocontrol the roller which shifts the chain of nameplates. Fig. 5 is afront elevation of a section of the chain of name-plates. Fig. 6 is aside elevation of the machine with a portion of the air-enginesectioned. Fig. 7 is a plan view of the machine, and Fig. 8 is a sideelevation of a portion of the reversing mechanism for operating thechain of rollers.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A- represents the case containing the roller B and the chain ofname-plates G. This case is divided into two compartments under theroller by a partition, I, and the chain hangs down from therol1er--which is in the upper part-each side of the partition, and isconnected to the floor at each end by a small chain, D, and a spring, E.The roller, having plain sides the width of the name-plates, and stud-pins F projecting from the sides, and engaging the plates by the holesG, to prevent the chain from slipping, is turned the width of one faceat each station to present the plates having names of the stations infront of the sight-opening H, and takes the chain up from onecompartment and drops it into the other. The chains D and springs Eprevent the nameplate chain from being carried beyond the point ofshowing the name of the last station on the route, in case the carshould be run beyond its route on another section or division, and holdit ready for running back on its own route. The springs are employed toallow the roller to turn in case the mechanism for turning it is kept inoperation after passing beyond the terminal station, and pull the rollerback each time. This will be found desirable in case the car should getcoupled, in a train for a road or station to which it does not belong,with'cars having'annunciators for that road, so that its annunciatorswould of necessity be coupled with the others, and so have to be-workedthat the others may be.

In practice we propose to have the partition I pivoted at the top, andthe floor of the case constructed on a curvestruck from said pivot, sothat, as the chain piles up in one side and diminishes in the other, thepartition will be moved aside by the pressure of the pile against it,and thus make nearly the whole space inside of the case available forthe chain of name-plates when accumulated in one pile on either side ofthe partition. The roller-shaft projects out through the case at the endJ, and

is fitted for the application of a wrench for readjusting it, when byany cause it happens to get shifted, so that the name-plates do notcorrespond with the stations. At the other end it has a long extensionbeyond the case, on whichis a cam-plate, a, having as many sides as theroller has, with which a strong spring, 1), acts to stop and hold theroller'after each movement. In practice we will have this plate notched,and the spring provided with a iriction-roller, d, as represented inFig. 4. This portion of the shaft also has a ratchet-wheel, K, of fourteeth or notches, corresponding to the number of sides to thechain-roller, by which the roller is to be shifted to the extent of thewidth of one side just before coming to each station by a pawl, L, whichis made double, and arranged to shift on a pivot, M, for reversing themotion of the-roller. This pawl is pivoted to the pawl-arm N of atoothed wheel, 0, fitted to turn loosely on the shaft, and it isprovided with a little cam, P, on its pivot, with which a spring, Q,acts,soas to hold it in either position for turning the roller eitherway. Said cam also has an extension, R, projecting from the top upbetween the two studs S of a yoke, T, which is shifted each time themotion of the roller is to be reversed, and shifts the pawl by the studsstriking the said projection of the cam and shifting it. This yoke Tconnects two toothed rack-bars, U, at their upper ends, which arepivoted at their lower ends toa cross-head, V, on the top of a piston,W, in an air-cylinder, X, to he forced up to turn the roller by airforced into it from the impelling-pump Y through the pipe Z. These twotoothed rods U are arranged in the same plane as the wheelO, and onopposite sides of it, so that one gearing with it when the piston isforced up will turn the roller one way, and the other will turn it theother way. They range alongside of a stationary bar, A, and have agroove, B in the side next to said bar, in which a stud-pin, O,projecting from said bar, Works, to hold the bar in gear with the wheel0 as the bar slides up to turn the wheel. These slots turn out throughthe side of the 7 bars at the top, as shown by the dotted lines B, sothat, when the piston is down, one bar can be shifted away from its pin,and the other can receive its pin in its groove without obstruction, asrequired to change the bars to reverse the speed. To make these changesof the toothed bars automatically, another bar, F, is arranged alongsideof the toothed bars, like the bar A but, instead of being stationary, itis arranged to slide, and has a roller, G, for each bar U, on a stud-pinprojecting from its side, so arranged that, whichever way the bar isshifted, one of the rollers will come against one of the toothed bars,and push them both in the same direction,'throwing one out of gear withthe wheel and the other in gear. Said rollers also hold the bars withwhich they act in gear with the wheel during its start upward, and untilthe stud-pin C has come into action in the slot B below the horizontalpart B at the top, through which the pin enters and escapes. The slidingbar F is connected, by a rod, H, with an arm, I, of a rock-shaft, J,which, at its other end, has a slotted arm or link, K, attached, at itsmiddle, to it, and this link is connected, by a rod, L, with an arm, M,on the shaft of a wind-wheel, N, which is mounted on the car in anyposition, so that the air, against which it is rapidly carried by thecar when in motion, will turn it, and cause it to shift the sliding barF through the medium of the above-described connections, and, throughsaid bar, shift the toothed bars U.

Going in one direction, the action of the air on the spiral vanes of thewheel will turn it one way, and, going the other way, it will bereversed, and will reverse the motion 'of the roller carrying thename-plates.

Should the car happen to be reversed, so that the same end of the wheelwill be presented to the air in going both ways on the road, so that itsmotion will not be reversed,

it can still be caused to reverse the roller by shifting theconnecting-rod L from one end to the other of the slotted link or arm K.

Each air-engine has two pipe-connections, Z and Z and a valve, Z foreach. One pipeconnection admits the air from the pump Y to the engine,and the other communicates with the engine in the next car. Both thevalves will be open when the engine is intermediate with the pump andother engines behind; but when it is in the last car, the valve of thepipe-connection will be closed to prevent the escape of the air. In thiscase the valves are opened by being raised up by the head 0, and theyare held up by swinging hooks P, which are pivoted to the engine, so asto swing under the head of the valves, and thus prevent them fromfalling.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patentl. The chain of name-plates, arranged on asingle roller, to be transferred from one side of the case to the other,and vice versa, and attached at each end by an expanding and contractingconnection, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. The case containing the roller and the chain of name-plates, dividedinto two compartments by a partition, I, either stationary or pivoted,substantially as specified.

3. The slotted toothed bars U, pivoted to the piston of the air-engine,connecting-yoke T, stationary bar A, and stud-pins 0, combined with theloose wheel 0, double pawl N, cam B, and the ratchet-wheel J on thenameplate roller-shaft, substantially as specified.

4. The combination of the shifting-cam R and lugs S of yoke T with thedouble pawl, R, substantially as specified.

5. The combination of a spiral wind-wheel, mounted on the car so as tobe subject to the atmosphere, with the reversing toothed bars U, whenconnected to them by a sliding bar, F, rock-shaft J, connecting-rods HL, and arms I and K, or any equivalent connecting apparatus,substantially as specified.

6. The spiral wind-wheel, connected to the rock-shaft J by areversing-link, K, substantially as specified.

7. The series of annunciators, connected together and to the air-forcingpump Y by pipes Z and Z and valves Z substantially as speci fied.

JAMES P. KEALY. JOSEPH RIGNEY.

\Vitnesses WM. H. LOCHUERT, MICHAEL EBERHARD.

